 Area
6 Director Dana Smith Represents the Following School Districts:
Au Sable Valley, Beekmantown, Brasher Falls,
Brushton-Moira, Canton, Chazy, Clifton-Fine,
Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington BOCES, Colton-Pierrepont, Crown Point,
Edwards-Knox, Elizabethtown-Lewis, Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES,
Gouverneur, Hammond, Harrisville, Hermon-DeKalb, Heuvelton, Indian Lake,
Keene, Lake Placid, Lisbon, Long Lake, Madrid-Waddington, Malone, Massena,
Minerva, Moriah, Morristown, Newcomb, Northeastern Clinton, Northern
Adirondack, Norwood-Norfolk, Ogdensburg, Parishville-Hopkinton, Peru,
Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Putnam, Raquette Lake, Saint Lawrence-Lewis BOCES,
Saint Regis Falls, Salmon River, Saranac, Saranac Lake, Schroon Lake, Ticonderoga,
Tupper Lake, Westport and Willsboro
Area Director Electronic Newsletter
Welcome to the October 30, 2009 issue of the
Area 6 electronic newsletter. The electronic newsletter is designed
to facilitate communication between members of your NYSSBA Board of
Directors and the Areas they represent. The newsletter contains information
about Area 6 and NYSSBA. I hope you find it informative. I
would appreciate your sending comments and suggestions for future
newsletters to me at area06director@nyssba.org.
If any of your board colleagues do not have computer access, a copy will be
sent to the district office for distribution. If others with email did not
receive their own copy, please submit their e-mail info@nyssba.org.
It was great to see the attendance from the North Country up over 60
people at our recent convention in NYC. I was able to make contact
with several of you, but I apologize for not seeing and greeting
everyone. The feedback I received from those I spoke to was very
enthusiastic about the offerings and the improvements this year. The
only negatives were from those who arrived at sessions late and could not
find a seat. If people would get to the sessions early, they'd get a
seat. Thank you to all of you who attended and we hope you have
brought something back to benefit the children in your district. Be
sure to complete the evaluation form sent by link on email. It's
quick and easy and will make our planning more effective for future
conventions. I actually had a conversation that included a discussion
of interest regarding Lake Placid as a "possible" future
location. Time will tell..........
Annual Convention Review
NYSSBA’s 90th Annual Convention was a huge
success! From the “town hall” session with Regents Chancellor
Tisch and Education Commissioner Steiner to “Dealing with
Investigative Reporters and Gotcha Journalism,” from the over 400 attendees
at the Pre-convention School Law Seminar, co-sponsored by the New
York State Association of School Attorneys (NYSASA), to the Sunday
morning closing session with former SED Associate Commissioner Shelia
Evans-Tranumn, everyone had a great time and left New York City
well-educated and armed to continue with the unique challenges of being a
school board member.
Congratulations to the President’s Award winner, former
SED Commissioner Richard Mills, and to the Distinguished
Service Award winner, Steve Witt from the
Hewlett-Woodmere School Board (Area 11).
Some Convention firsts in 2009:
- Our “Go
Green” initiative. Over 55 Convention presentation
handouts have been posted on the NYSSBA website – www.nyssba.org - and are available
for download.
- Our partnership with Barnes & Noble as the official bookseller at
NYSSBA’s Annual Convention – a huge success. Look for NYSSBA to
continue to work with Barnes & Noble. Plans are in the works to
offer an additional on-site bookstore location at our 2010 Convention
and more of the very popular on-site book signings.
- Our social
media presence. NYSSBA “tweeted” on Twitter and posted on our
new NYSSBA Facebook fan page throughout the Convention.
The 2009 trade show was a great success. One
hundred sixty-two companies participated in this year’s event, including 25
sponsors and 47 new vendors. Evaluations from our vendors have been
very positive. The 2010 trade show is off to a good start, too, with 92
booths already reserved.
2010 Officers Elected
During the Annual Business Meeting, the delegates adopted ten
resolutions while nine resolutions failed.
Also during the Business Meeting, the following officers were elected for
2010:
- President – Florence Johnson,
Buffalo Board (Conference of Big 5)
- First Vice President – Tom Nespeca,
Webster Board (Area 2)
- Second Vice
President – Lynne Lenhardt, Bethlehem/Capital Region BOCES/Tech Valley HS (Area
7)
- Treasurer – Michael Masse,
Fayetteville-Manlius Board (Area 4)
Wayne Schlifke of the Erie 1 BOCES Board (Area 1) will become the Immediate
Past President. Congratulations one and all!
Will You Be My Fan?
NYSSBA has joined the social network ranks! Since launching our NYSSBA Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/NYSSBA?ref=ts)
Oct. 2, we have 164 fans and counting, including Executive Director Tim
Kremer and new Area 1 Director Linda Hoffman. Deputy Director of
Communications and Research Barbara Bradley administers the page and
invites you to join. If you’re already on Facebook, just search “New
York State School Boards Association.” If you don’t have a
personal account, go to www.facebook.com and follow the directions to sign up. It’s easy and it’s free.
Mid-Year Aid Cuts
NYSSBA has spoken out strongly against the governor’s proposed
mid-year aid cuts. Tim Kremer’s press statement responding
to the proposed cuts, which went out during convention,
received ample coverage in the Buffalo News and in the Gannett
newspapers. Also, NYSSBA’s Director of Governmental Relations David Little
testified on the cuts before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
New Education Commissioner
Tim Kremer attended the swearing-in ceremony for new Commissioner
of Education David Steiner Oct. 1. The ceremony was held in
an Albany elementary school. The new commissioner attended our
convention and will be the guest speaker at the December Board of Directors
meeting.
Northeast Region Meeting
Tim Kremer, NYSSBA Deputy Executive Director Rita Lashway and the
majority of the NYSSBA Executive Committee headed to Providence, R. I. in
early October for the Northeast Region Meeting, during
which time former NYSSBA President and current NSBA Director Anne
Byrne was nominated to run (unopposed) for re-election to her position as the National School Boards Association Northeast
Region Director. President Wayne Schlifke was
elected to the NSBA Policy and Bylaws Committee.
Congratulations Anne and Wayne!
2010 Membership Dues
NYSSBA’s 2010 membership dues invoices, along
with letters and information about the Association’s programs
and services, have been sent to member and nonmember school
board presidents, superintendents and district clerks.
And Finally...
NYSSBA wishes a Happy Anniversary to Executive Director
Tim Kremer and his wife, Jaye, as they celebrate their 30th anniversary in
grand style – a week in Paris!
Upcoming Events - 2009
K-12 School Foundation Training
November 3, Buffalo, Hyatt Regengy
November 4, Utica, Radisson Hotel
November 5, Tarrytown, Westchester Marriott
COLSBA/NYSSBA Joint Conference
November 5, Superintendent Search Process with Nassau-Suffolk
SBA, Holiday Inn Plainview
December 10, Care and Feeding of your Leadership Team with
Westchester-Putnam SBA,
Elmsford, Southern Westchester BOCES
December 15, Hiring a Board-Savvy Superintendent with the Mid-Hudson
School Study
Council, Newburgh, Ramada Inn
Fiscal Oversight Fundamentals Workshop
November 21, Rochester, Marriott Airport
November 21, Latham, NYSSBA
December 5, Islandia, Marriott
Winter School Law Conference
December 9, Albany
December 15, Rochester
ECB Bullying Conference
December 10, Albany, Desmond
Upcoming Events - 2010
State Issues Conference
March 14-15, Albany, Crowne Plaza
NSBA Annual Conference and Exposition
April 10-13, Chicago, IL
10th Annual School Attorneys Conference
June 4-6
NYSCOSS Fall Conference
September 26-28, Saratoga Springs
14th Annual Pre-Convention School Law Seminar
October 21, New York City
91st Annual Convention
October
21-24, New York City |
